Broken Arrow (1996): "I said goddamn, what a rush!"

Next year marks 30 years since John Woo's 1996 action spectacle, Broken Arrow. During the middle act of the film a nuclear explosion goes off deep in an underground mine, setting off a chain reaction of electrical-magnetic-pulse (EMP) disruption. The resulting shockwave tremors across the Utah desert, as the EMP makes a helicopter go down in epic destruction, and Major Deakins (played so over the top by John Travolta it just adds to the fun of the film) yells out "I said goddamn, what a rush! Woo!"

Reading reviews of the film from the past, a time I didn't really invest too much of my time reading critic reviews in the local papers or magazines, it astounds me the slightly cold reception Broken Arrow received. I mean, the film is just a classic 90s action rush! Having seen the film countless times it's one of my favourite action films, and for the 108 minute runtime it just flows perfectly for me - when you get it!

You've got the good guy and the bad guy, the plot of greed and power, betrayal of two men in high performance/ high responsibility careers, exciting choreography within the action sequences, astonishing practical effects that make you feel the heat, helicopters that when you see them are bound to go down in a blaze of glory, humvees bouncing through the desert landscapes, and some humour injected into the action packed story as well. And then the final showdown with fists and kicks thrown all out there for the win.

Is it perfect? No, but it's got all the ingredients of a fun action film! I consider it a classic, it's not meant to take itself too seriously. It's not a mastermind plot.

John Woo who directed the film was in his prime, but still working hard on penetrating the US audiences with his gritty action, and explosive formulae his native audiences of Hong Kong had come to rate so highly.

Broken Arrow was written by Graham Yost, who was coming off the back of his successfully screenplay Speed, starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. Yost did a fine job with Broken Arrow where I feel he still kept it fun and ambitious. Throw in a cast of Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Delroy Lindo, and Bob Gunton, you have some star appeal right there.

Slater and Mathis had starred together in the turn of the 90s Pump Up The Volume! and here they were re-united in a different genre, but the chemistry between the two is still very much there. I have to admit at the end I was always waiting for the guy gets the girl moment sealing it with a kiss, before a burning train-wreckage at that too, but never to be. You know he gets the girl though.

The films plot is simple enough. In summation; two USA fighter pilots who have a history of rivalry and different approaches to authority, are assigned the task of flying a B3 stealth bomber (B3 was fictional as they were not cleared to reference the B2A Stealth Bomber) with two live nuclear warheads aboard to see if any radiation or jet heat-signals from radars is detected. Major Deakins uses the opportunity to plan an operation to steal the weapons, and with his cronies on the desert floor they attempt to move the stolen warheads to a secure location until their ransom money is paid. However, Captain Riley Hale (Christian Slater) interferes with the heist and as contingency plan continue to fail, Deakins crazed side continues to escalate as he becomes unpredictable in his efforts to get his money, until all is lost and he officially sees his mind "take a walk off the map", Hale observes with grave concern. By the end Deakins crew is gone (dead) and all that remains is Hale. And the epic final showdown occurs. Good guy versus bad guy stuff.

The location is intended to be all played out in Utah, and while some principle photography took place there, it is also filmed in Arizona and California (the Mojave Desert). I enjoyed the arid setting, especially given it adds to the isolated intensity of the acts that play out before us, knowing Hale and Carmichael are on their own. We feel a sense of relief from the desert, when Hale and Terry Carmichael (Mathis) find themselves in an underground mine, which ends up in a river where they cool off unintentionally following the nuclear blast which reveals Travolta's character wacky excitement to shout, "I said goddamn, what a rush!"

Taking the setting as suitable, the plot workable, and a cast fit to the era, all that needed to go off firing were the action effects.

The beauty of this film is special effects in CGI world are reserved for the Stealth Bomber scene, which is a little date now on rewatch, but it's not distracting enough to take you out of the film, especially giving some grace for the decade of production. The ground tremor/cave in is done exceptionally well. Everything else we see is practical effects - the best way to approach effects! Watch Antoine Fuqua's 2007 film Shooter, a decade after Broken Arrow,to see what I mean.

Mini-sets were designed by the crew to produce the exploding Stealth Bomber, as well as trains and helicopters. The explosions are gloriously exaggerated, almost comedically, cause it's just so outrageous on Woo's vision. But they were practical even if using small-scale models. The crew really went all in and that's what I want to see in an action film! A running joke already mentioned is when you see a helicopter, you know that she is going down. The crew in this department spent approximately 6-weeks working on a 65km train line just to capture the final act on the train, including physical fight choreography (Slater doing his own stunts), bad guys falling off the train, and a helicopter hovering above the moving freight train - and bad guys getting sliced by the chopper blades too.

The sound effects for the action sequences are also top notch. The gun shots are loud, and the explosions of both aircraft and vehicle destruction is engaging. I even enjoy the raw sound of the fist fight scenes - notably the films climatic scene!

On the acting front - Travolta copped it a bit for being over the top. I disagree. I loved that approach and it was great to see his return to the acting A-List podium with a string of mid-90s action films. He'd been so eager to play an antagonist and Woo gave him his shot - and he got the reprise this in Woo's Faceoff. I liked the confident swagger he carried into the physical prowl of Deakins, as he goes from calm and in control, to finally being off the rails and a loose canon. He's crazy and almost happy to take his odds in standing before death and failure in his quest for riches due to his ego being shot down by the authority figures before him. Those bastards in Washington DC!

Christian Slater is one of my go-to actors of the decade. I am still a huge fan on "The Slatester" and it was awesome seeing him really commit to the character of

Riley Hale in Broken Arrow. Still with his cocky demeanour and smart-arse comments that we love about Slater with his distinct voice, he also physically immersed himself into the character of Hale doing as many of his stunts as possible (here's looking at your Mr. Tom Cruise), including the frantic train scene where he's trying his best to hold onto the bottom of the carriage with the ground passing mere inches by him, his character already bloodied and battered. I think his casting in an action film as our protagonist likely detracted his female viewers, so the film often gets unspoken of when his career credential highlights get mentioned.

Travolta and Slater play off against each brilliantly. Some humour, competitiveness, mentor versus apprentice switching, pilot and co-pilot, and also rage also felt quite authentically. Mathis' character, a local park ranger, finds herself in the most unfair of circumstances being caught up in the chaos. Mathis still has her very cute charm about her, and does well to portray a character wanting to contribute to the in strife Hale, but is so out of her depth she's only just hanging in there and probably causing Hale more strain than anything. However, they start to establish a healthy bond knowing they're in it together no matter what the outcome as Hale takes his duty of service seriously to protect an innocent person. She's not quite the damsel in distress, but she's the character in a situation beyond her scope of training. 

I actually enjoyed former-NFL player Howie Long is this film. He's giving it his absolute best and it's amusing how his character goes from praising Deakins and being the best right-hand man possible, eventuating to the dire point where even he realises how cuckoo Deakins is and that it's gone too far out of control. And then this happens at 6 seconds into this clip. And no, that is Howie Long's scream - not the infamous Wilhelm Scream! He had another crack as the lead man in 1998s Fire Storm but that was mostly a wrap on his Hollywood stint.

There's some solid sequences in this film that I believe adds some brilliance setting up the film. Many think it's just being spelt out - but before we have the confirmed knowledge that Travolta's character is a menace and Slater is our hero, there's some clever film play that subconsciously sets it up. 

The film has a very cool opening sequence, slowly fading in Hans Zimmer's exhilarating score, where the camera slowly pans in on a small grey box - with quick intercuts with punches being thrown. As the the zoom continues we see our two main characters boxing. And then the film logo shoots into frame...

BROKEN ARROW. 

During this scene we see Travolta (Deakins) on one side, Slater (Hale) the other - the divided sides. Deakins is in black and towering Hale. Hale is in light grey and being dominated in the aggressive sparring sequence. Deakins is laying on the mentorship and provoking Hale, while Hale quips back where he can with some dry-sarcasm too as he defends himself to learn in the heat of the moment - as he will have to do in the life or death moments to follow him. Once Deakins has taken the win, Hale lies there. Deakins holds out his glove, full in frame leaning over Hale, asserting his dominance with an uneasiness of distrust. Hale looks up apprehensive but signals the defeat as they bash gloves in brotherly bonding.
In the scene that follows having seen the two pilots suit up for their mission briefing, a sombre piece of music plays as Hale looks at his bashed face. We then cut to Deakins and get his theme song ("Deakins Theme") - a Western style guitar line with some tremolo effect for the villain, which perfectly plays throughout the film when Deakins is in the mix - even when you think he must surely be history! We know by the filming within the scene it's made clear that something is amiss with Deakins, and Hale is going to trialled throughout the film.

The films conclusion has a fun tie-in to the opening sequence where Hale gives Deakins $20 for winning their boxing match. Deakins refuses to accept that Hale gave it his all, and it's not an honourable win. Hale then rejects his ethical stance and says to him it really is his - he merely stole the cash out of Deakins wallet when he was in the shower. Showing Deakins that maybe he can be a step ahead! 

After their epic fist fight showdown in the final act has come to a conclusion with Hale the victor, the train (and Deakins) blows up and spectacular climatic effect. And as Hale stands before the blaze he finds the slightly burnt $20 note that he gave back to Deakins in that opening sequence. A fun full-circle moment. And as the smoke begins to build around him, Carmichael (Mathis is full of sass in this scene) walks to him in slow-motion through the smoke. To Hale's relief they have both survived a phenomenal ordeal. And with that they formally introduce themselves having room to breathe from gunfire, and as the camera zooms on them holding hands and pulling each other in close, Carmichael flirtatiously comes back full circle to when her initial intent to arrest Hale. "You know, you're still under arrest Captain!" she says, softer in tone this time. "Oh yeah, well I guess you better take me in then". Maybe an unintended innuendo there but as they embrace - sharp cut to black - credits and epic music!

A satisfying ending after an almightily ambitious final act.

Lastly, the music needs to be mentioned as always. What a score! Hans Zimmer has so many blockbusters to his name and still to this day he carves them out. I rank this films score up there with his work on Gladiator (2000). 

It's a guns out score, bold and present with keyboard stabs hitting your ears as big as the explosions hit your eyes. It really stands out audibly, well adapted to the visuals. I actually have a copy of the 2011 limited edition double-CD for the entire film (3,000 copies were printed). It has some excellent liner notes for fans of the film, with details what is happening scene-to-scene as the music plays out. The most disappointing thing with the score is Zimmer licencing out the music so some of the most iconic music ended up in other films, notably Scream 2. I'd preferred it to have been exclusive for this film. It is great to listen to a soundtrack and be able to visually here the queues of the music triggering the visual sequences and dialogue in your mind. 

Hans Zimmer also echoed what I think many miss with this film, that it's a fun, action-packed explosive ride. To conclude his approach to the score, "My intent was just make the film fun, when there's no real story to tell. Well, I guess there was a story about betrayal between two men who've been friends forever. But that's not really what the movie was about. It was about blowing up a lot of things."

Not much more needs to be said. I feel the film is a perfect portrayal of action films from the decade, and one of the best. I saw it in the summer of 1997/98 and ever since it's been a regular viewing for me and I still never tire. It's fun to watch with a few good mates over drinks and pizza. I wish we saw more films made in this style, and that blokey aura. Ambitious and going for the action - exploring practical effects and wild action sequences that could be reality, but may be farfetched. That was the approach of John Woo. And let's not forget a time when actors good at serving their skill could simply draw in an audience by their name on the poster alone.

And in conclusion I think if viewers back in 1996 had just strapped themselves in for the fun action ride of Broken Arrow, and understanding the mind of John Woo without knowing the man, they too could have shared Deakins' delight by exclaiming, "I said goddamn, what a rush!"


Broken Arrow was released in February 1996 and is a 20th Century Studios Picture. 
Directed by John Woo.
Music by Hans Zimmer.
Starring John Travolta, Christian Slater, and Samantha Mathis.